Improvement in governors



the steem-openin UNITED STATES PATENTDT'TIon:c

EDWARD H. KNIGHT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN GOVERNORS.

Specicetion forming port of Letters Potent No. 59.418, leted November 6, 1866.

To all whom it 'may eminem.-

Be it known tiret I, EDWARD H. KNIGHT, of the city and county of Washington, District of Columbia, 'heve mede new end useful Improveniente in Governors; end I do hereby declere the following to he n full, clear, and exuct description of theneture, constructiomend operation of the same, sufficient to enable one skilled in the nrt to which' it uppertuins to construct and use the seme, reference being hed' to the aocompenyingdrewings, which ere mede part of this specification, end in which similar letters in the diierent gures refer to corre spending parts.

My invention consists in so constructingtlhe curved erm, toe, teppet, cem-thread, or lifter, es the part tney be variously denominated', according to its constructionfthutit shall give a gradueted increasing' or decreasing motion to the plete or other device which communicetes with the throttle or other valve and regnietes the eren of steam-opening.

In an ordinary form of teppets or ifters, theyr lift ordepress the plete equal distances with equal vertical motions of the governor-balls by which action the increase or diminution o is equal in deg-ree with e given motion of t e governor-bells et thedif ferent portions of their ren ge of motion.

Figure 1 is a diagram of a. com or liftingtappet calculated, es shown by the respective ordinates, to move the plate to e greater extent with e given motion at the ceri;r portion of its stroke then with. un 'equal motion on its exis et a. later periodlof its stroke.

The ninety degrees embraced in thecnrve of the cum-shaped teppet being divided into nineequel parts, it will be seen that the amount of vertical motion ofthe plete moved by it will gradually decrease es the governor-bells escend. By this ineens e greater vertical motion of the plete will be attained et low speeds with e given vertical motion of the bells than vis obtained hy en equal vertical motion ofthe bells et e higher speed, thereby enabling the governor to ineke s. greeter change inthe aree of steam-opening with a given vertical motion of the bells when running et e low speed than will be obtained by au equal vertical motion of the balls when running et higher speeds. The capacity for'eutometic adjustment in this respect is u. valuable feature in steam-engines,

the form of the curve of the lifter being celenluted end adapted to the requirements of any f particular case.

In the drawings, c is the slotted curved plete or com, from which is suspended the erm b, on whose end the govemor-bell is ettachvd. a is the plete on which the carriage d is placed, the plete cbeng revolved on e. vertical exis in e manner familiar to those acquainted with this clues of machines. e is the upper plate, which also revolves on the seid vertical exis, end its carriage f carries e. pin, k, which occupies the slot h in the cem a, which is jonrneed by menus of the pin i in the carriage d.

As the plates c end e revolve the governorbell will ily npwerd in the direction of the errow, which will cause the com a to rotete on its exis i, drawing down the plete e by means ci' the treversel of the pin kin the sloth of the cem c. The said slot, es will appear by e comparison of the lengths of the ordin etes, will not only, as the cem c is rotated, censo the plete eV to eppronch the plete c, but the cem u, will have e greater effect et the eerlier portion of its mot-ion than at the latter-tiret is, a. graduelly-decreasing e'ect in producing vertical motion of the plete o. Y

It will be perceived (see Fig. Vl) that the ninety degrees described by the slot ere divided for ,illustration by ordinates into sections often degrees each, und that the point 'm occupied by the pin k et one end of the slot is, say, one and e heit' inch, more distant from the center i' than the point 'n et the other end of the slot. For the sake of illustration, I have divided this speceof one end e lie-lf inch into nin e un equal perte, (marked, respectively, 9, B, 7, 6, 5, 4,-3,2,1,)which represent, respectively, those proportions of forty-fifths oi' en inch and e half. Thus, the spacel marked 9 is supposed to consist ofonc-ilfth ot the whole space of one inch end a. heli, equal to ninei'orty-ft-hs of one and e half inch; the next space, eight-forty-fths; the next seven-fortyifths, und so on. Thus, when the plete c is rotated ten degrees et the commencement ofthe upward motionV of the governor-bells, the plete e is drawn down uineiorty-iifths, equal one-fifth of one and a. half inch, end each succeeding ten degrees of motion of the plete having e gradually-decreasing verticel eEeet upon the plete e', which is connected by a rod or any other mechanical device to the steam-valve.

In Fig. 2 is shown a worm or thread upon a spindle7 which is rotated bythe swinging outwardly oi' the governor-balls when they are suspended from carriages adjusted in a horizontal plane, and this thread or inclined plane7 instead oi having a regular pitch, has a gradually-increasing pitch or twist, or a gradually decreasing one, according to the cud of' the Worm or thread from which the start is made.

As the governor balls and arms with an increase oi" speed assume a position more and more nearly radial to their axis of revolution, the spindles from which they are suspended will rotate, il'permitted. This motion, more fully explained in another application for patent made by myself', is therein proposed to be utilized in obtaining a rectilinear motion; and I herein propose to make thelil'tingtlnead of an increase or decrease twist, so that the said motion ofthe governor-balls in a direction approaching the radial shall have the graduA ated effect described when treating of Fig. l Vot' the drawing-attached to this specilication.

This improvement in its form (illustrated in Fig. l) may be used in connection with governor-balls swinging` from axes which are themselves adjustable or movable in a hori zontal plane; or it may be used attached to governor-balls suspended in any other manner.

This feature of giving a horizontal adjustability to the hinging axis of the governorballs is the subject-matter of another application for Letters Patent made by myselt', and has nothing to do with the present one.

It is not a material point to the present invention whether the governor be so constituted as to cause the plate c to rise or to fall by the vertical motion ofthe governor-balls.

ln the former case the lowest point ou the iinpinging surface o the cam will be in contact with the plate or its adjuncts when the balls are at rest, and in the latter case the highest point will be in the said contact under like circumstances ot' inaction.

l consider it best that the point of impingement oi" the lifter on the plate should be above the hinging-axisot' the governor-mill; but this is not an absolute necessity.

I propose also to attach a plate to the stem, which plate may possess several difereut curves in slots or on its margin, and theplate, heilig' adjustably attached tothe stem, may, by change of position, be made the means of moving the valve at rates adapted to the requirements of' varying circumstances.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A cam attached to the governorarm, or to the spindle from which the governor-ball is suspended, so constructed, curved, or proportioned as to effect a graduated action upon the device or devices for controlling the area of steam-passage, substantially as herein set forth.

EDWARD H. KNlGHT.

Witnesses:

ALEX. A. C. KLAUCKE, CHAs. A. Pe'r'rrr. 

